DRAMATIC VIDEO: SPECIAL FORCES FIREFIGHT IN IRAQ

This video captures a number of firefights in Iraq as well as showing enemy combatants preparing rockets and IEDs for use against U.S. forces.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/1vvfIUcVuYg&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON ARROW TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

SEXUAL TRAUMA AFFLICTS 15 PERCENT OF U.S. VETERANS

Sexual trauma afflicts 15 pct of U.S. veterans

28 Oct 2008 04:00:13

Source: Reuters
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N27312542.htm

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Nearly 15 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking medical care from the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department have suffered sexual trauma, from harassment to rape, researchers reported on Tuesday.

And these veterans were 1.5 times as likely as other veterans to need mental health services, the report from the VA found.

"We are, in fact, detecting men and women who seem to have a significant need for mental health services," said Rachel Kimerling of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System in California.

The study, presented at a meeting of the American Public Health Association in San Diego, raises many questions.

Kimerling said in a telephone interview the term "military sexual trauma" covers a range of events from coerced sex to outright rape or threatening and unwelcome sexual advances.
Kimerling said for her purposes it is not necessary to find out what kind of sexual trauma occurred. Her study also did not determine when it happened.

"If you think about military service where you are living and working so closely with the same people, that even if it is not sexual assault ... it is possible that severe sexual harassment is just as traumatic," she said.

The study does not cover active-duty servicemen and women, as VA services are only available to discharged veterans.

A spokeswoman for the VA said about 40 percent of all discharged veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have sought medical care of some sort from the VA, which has a universal screening program for military sexual trauma.

Kimerling said that may mean many veterans are unaware they can be helped and she said she hoped more would come forward to seek treatment.

"There are dedicated health care services for military sexual trauma at every VA facility across the nation," she said.

Sexual trauma can lead to depression, anxiety, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder, Kimerling said.

"We know there are effective, evidence-based treatments for them that are used in VA," she added.

Most veterans who were affected were women, with more than one in seven women seeking health care services of some sort also reporting sexual trauma. Just under 1 percent of male veterans also reported military sexual trauma.

OCTOBER SURPRISE? U.S. ATTACKS SYRIA: 9 KILLED

Most insiders think the United States is going to launch some kind of an "October Surprise" as a way for the BUSH administration to help JOHN McCAIN in his bid for the White House.

This information was provided us via LORI PRICE, managing editor of CLG News http://www.legitgov.org/


US Attacks Syria, Nine Killed near Iraqi Border

27 Tishrei 5769, 26 October 08 08:14by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

(IsraelNN.com)

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/128087

Two to four United States helicopters attacked Syria, near the Iraqi border, Sunday evening, killing at least nine people. The site was near the target Israel bombed last year.

Foreign media reported that residents in the village of Al-Sukkariya, approximately 300 miles northeast of Damascus and about 10 miles inside Syrian territory and near the main border crossing from Syria into Iraq. Syrian government news agencies confirmed the attack, and a private Syrian television channel reported that nine men died and 14 were wounded.

Two of the helicopters reportedly landed in the village, where eight American soldiers jumped out and carried out the operation. The soldiers quickly returned to the helicopters, and all of the craft left the scene.

It was the first time the U.S. has attacked on Syrian land.

American military spokesperson Sergeant Brooke Murphy said officials are investigating the report.

The targets reportedly were construction workers and were civilians, including five people from one family, local residents reported to news agencies. Terrorists have used the nearby border crossing to transport weapons, money and guerillas to help Sunni opposition to the Iraqi government, backed by the U.S.

The Bush administration has charged Syria with not preventing Al Qaeda terrorists from infiltrating into Iraq.

IRAQ TROOP DEAL "CRUSHING DEFEAT FOR BUSH" VIDEO FROM REAL NEWS NETWORK

In an article on ipsnews.net, journalist and investigative historian Gareth Porter analyzed the final draft of the US Iraq Status of Forces Agreement on the US military presence in Iraq.

He states that the agreement “represents an even more crushing defeat for the policy of the George W. Bush administration than previously thought.” The deal not only calls for a clear deadline for a withdrawal of combat troops by 2011, it will also be unlikely the a residual non-combat force of US Troops would be allowed to remain in Iraq for training and support purposes.

Porter also states: “The clearest sign of the dramatically reduced US negotiating power is the willingness of the United States to give up extraterritorial jurisdiction over US contractors and their employees and over US troops in the case of major and intentional crimes that occur outside bases and while off duty.”

The Real News Network spoke to Gareth Porter. WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=2613

THE END OF AMERICA----MUST SEE VIDEO BY AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR NAOMI WOLF

This video is an awakening to what has happened to America and what lies ahead for America.

Award-winning author Naomi Wolf takes you through a 75-minute video with several commercial breaks as she outlines how what has happened to America is exactly what happened in Germany under the Nazis in 1933.

The rights of American citizens are being taken away and you will see one example after another of how American citizens are being treated just like the citizens of Germany were treated in 1933.

There are examples of torture and how the Bush administration has twisted the words of the Constitution around to allow the torture of American citizens, and to claim anyone who doesn't follow the Bush doctrine can be called an "enemy combatant."

Throughout this video you will see scene after scene from vintage footage of Nazi Germany and how what is happening in the United States is an exact duplicate.

Naomi Wolf calls the "the closing society" and for good reason. The United States stands on the brink of destruction and there is one last chance Americans have at preserving America as the home of the brave and land of the free.

That day is November 4, 2008. A vote for McCain and Palin is a vote for another step toward a society similar to what happened to Germany under Nazi rule.

The choice is yours. The choice is now. A mis-step now will be "The End of America."

I highly recommend you watch it this video. It may be the most important 75 minutes of your life. Remember: there are several commercial breaks so don't close this video until you have seen it from start to finish and then go out and vote on November 4 for either a free society or a totalitarian society.

The choice is YOURS.

Commentary by BILL CORCORAN, editor of CORKSPHERE

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.snagfilms.com/films/watch/the_end_of_america/

SADR CITY: A TINDER BOX READY TO EXPLODE: WASHINGTON POST

The SURGE is over and now IRAQ, and in particular the SADR CITY neighborhood of BAGHDAD, stands ready to explode.

You could cut the tension in SADR CITY with a butter knife.

In Sadr City, a Repressed but Growing RageLimited by Cease-Fire, Mahdi Army Fighters Increasingly Restless as Iraqi Troops Go on Offensive

By Sudarsan RaghavanWashington Post Foreign ServiceThursday, October 23, 2008; A12

http://tinyurl.com/69jtpl

BAGHDAD -- Outside the tan, high-walled house, Shiite militiamen stood guard. Inside, men sat on a red carpet, their backs against a wall adorned with images of Shiite saints, their anger rising with each sentence. Hashim Naseer, a tribal leader, remembered how Iraqi soldiers arrested his brother early this month at a nearby park along with other Shiite fighters of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army.

"We thought this government was for Shiites, but now they have become worse than Saddam Hussein's regime," said Naseer, 40. "We placed much faith in the Iraqi security forces, but they are taking advantage of us."

Seven months after intense clashes with U.S. and Iraqi government forces rocked Baghdad's Sadr City enclave, a sense of betrayal and frustration flows through its sprawling expanse. Iraqi army units, backed by U.S. forces, are launching pre-dawn raids and arresting dozens of suspected militiamen, despite a deal between Sadr and Iraq's government. Residents, once fearful of the Mahdi Army militia, have become informants, and senior Sadrist leaders have been assassinated.

Yet the enclave, Sadr's largest popular base in the capital, has remained relatively calm. In interviews, Mahdi Army fighters insist they are shackling their rage and complying with Sadr's cease-fire, issued last year.

"Sayyid Moqtada al-Sadr told us: 'If they arrest you, do not do anything. If someone does bad things to you, don't retaliate,' " said Ahmed Abu Zahara, 37, a Mahdi Army commander, using an honorific for Sadr. "We are still obeying the Sayyid."

American and Iraqi officials have described Sadr's cease-fire as a key reason for Iraq's sharp drop in violence. They also cite the "surge" of 30,000 U.S. troops and the rise of the Awakening forces, made up mostly of Sunni former insurgents, who allied with U.S. forces for money and position.

Now, the surge troops have left. And concerns are growing that many Awakening fighters could rejoin the insurgency, as the Shiite-led government, long suspicious of the former fighters, takes control of the movement.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/69jtpl

MENTALLY UNSTABLE SOLDIERS REDEPLOYED TO IRAQ

Stretched Thin, Army Puts Some Vulnerable Soldiers Back on the Frontlines

By BOB WOODRUFF, JAMES HILL and JAIME HENNESSEY
Oct. 23, 2008—

http://abcnews.go.com/International/WoodruffReports/story?id=6095812&page=1

Two weeks before his second deployment to Iraq last September, Army Specialist Michael DeVlieger broke down.

"At first, I thought it was something that everybody experienced," DeVlieger told ABC's Bob Woodruff, "and just through time and perseverance I guess it would pass." It didn't pass.

After an 11-day hospitalization, DeVlieger was given a diagnosis of major depressive disorder, three psychiatric prescriptions -- and deployment orders.

"Eighteen hours after he got out of the hospital, he deployed to Iraq," DeVlieger's wife, Christine DeVlieger, recalled. He left for Iraq despite Pentagon policy requiring that service members establish three months of "stability without significant symptoms" before deploying.

"I was a ticking time bomb," Michael DeVlieger said.

Citing privacy, officials at DeVlieger's base in Fort Campbell, Ky., declined to comment except to say there was a combat stress unit assigned to DeVlieger's base in Iraq.

'Stretched Too Thin'

More than 600,000 Americans have served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Psychological trauma is cumulative," explained Dr. Paul Ragan, a former Navy psychiatrist who is an associate professor of psychiatry at Vanderbilt University. More deployments can mean more mental stress, and for some, more mental illnesses, he said.

Army surveys show that for those soldiers deployed once, the rate of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder is 12 percent. For those deployed three or more times, the rate is 27 percent.

"People who have psychiatric symptoms, actively symptomatic with PTSD or depression, are being sent back to the very situation that caused their PTSD and depression," Ragan said.
The Army's chief psychiatrist, Dr. Elspeth Ritchie, agrees with the Rand Corp.'s estimate that 300,000 service members have demonstrated post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Some are returning to the battlefront, although the Army is not keeping track of how many.

"I certainly would not want to lump all soldiers who have experienced post-traumatic stress disorder and say they are impaired and not able to do their job," Ritchie told Woodruff. "I think that would be very stigmatizing."

Many soldiers, as Ritchie points out, receive treatment and cope successfully with PTSD or depression.

"We have a number of reasons for sending the soldiers back to war -- we have a mission, clearly," Ritchie said.

The mission asks a lot of a few. Less than 1 percent of the population serves, and serves again.
"We know the Army is stretched too thin. We know how busy we are. We know we need more forces," Ritchie said.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/WoodruffReports/story?id=6095812&page=1

HEY, FOX NEWS: WHAT ABOUT THIS IN BAGHDAD TODAY?

FOX NEWS recently dispatched BILL HEMMER to Baghdad and as you would expect he provided nothing but glowing reports on how calm and wonderful everything is in the capitol city of IRAQ.

You spoke too soon FOX NEWS and BILL HEMMER.


Bomb kills 9 people in Baghdad

The Associated Press

Thursday, October 23, 2008

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/23/news/ML-Iraq.php

BAGHDAD: A suicide car bomber targeted an Iraqi minister during rush hour Thursday morning in Baghdad, killing at least nine people and wounding 14, officials said.

The blast underscored the continued dangers facing Iraqis despite a sharp decline in violence over the past year as insurgents defy security improvements. Militants have frequently targeted Iraqi government officials.

The attacker rammed the car into the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry convoy as it passed through the central Bab al-Sharji area, a ministry spokesman said.

The Shiite minister, Mahmoud Mohammed al-Radhi, escaped unharmed but three of his guards were killed, spokesman Abdullah al-Lami told the al-Arabiya TV station.

At least four other people were killed in addition to the guards, and 14 people were wounded, according to police and hospital officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.

"It is the latest in a series of criminal acts that are targeting development process in Iraq," al-Lami said.

REMEMBER IRAQ?

It wasn't long ago that a story about the war in Iraq would at least make the front page of most newspapers, albeit under the fold, but now you can go through an entire newspaper, or watch an hour of cable news, and NEVER, NEVER, NEVER read or hear a word about the IRAQ WAR.

We still have 160,000 young AMERICANS in Iraq, and the Iraqi government has just turned down a plan that would have brought U.S. troops home, and so Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has gone on record saying the future of IRAQ will be left to the next President.

So BUSH walks out of the White House on January 20 and turns his back on the mess he has created which has so far cost 4,200 AMERICAN lives, and another 30,000 AMERICANS wounded. Some of them will be disabled for life and if JOHN McCAIN were elected President they would find their veteran benefits cut even more because that is what McCAIN has done in the past to legislation to help veterans.

But here is what took place TODAY in IRAQ. You'll not find this in any newspaper in the U.S. or on any cable news show.

Commentary by BILL CORCORAN, editor of CORKSPHERE.


44 Iraqis Killed, 14 Wounded; Mass Grave Found

Updated at 6:31 p.m. EDT, Oct. 22, 2008

http://www.antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=13630

For the fifth day in a row, a mass grave has been discovered. This one contained at least 34 victims. Overall, at least 44 Iraqis were killed and 14 more were wounded in violence across Iraq. No Coaltion deaths were reported. Meanwhile, a Shi'ite cleric has issued a fatwa against a controversial U.S.-Iraqi security pact.

A mass grave was discovered in Qaim, near the Syrian border. Police said it contained at least 34 bodies. Many of the victims are believed to be part of a group of police recruits who went missing three years ago. Two of the dead were women.

In Baghdad, a bomb killed one civilian and wounded three others in Bab al-Sharqi. Near Andalus Square, another bomber injured three more. Two people were wounded during a bombing in Mansour.

A bomb planted on a car injured one person in Zaafaraniyah. One dumped body was found.

Five large weapons caches were confiscated in Sadr City.

In Mosul, a car bomb killed four people and wounded three others. An Iraqi soldier was wounded in a drive-by shooting. A dumped body was found. Also, 21 suspects were arrested across the province.

One suspect was killed and another was wounded as they were allegedly planting a bombing in Zamar. Another four people were arrested.

In Balad Ruz, a bomb killed a policeman.

A decapitated body was found in Tuz Khormato. The victim was a Turkman who had been kidnapped a month ago.

FRIENDLY FIRE AIRSTRIKE KILLS 9 AFGHAN SOLDIERS---WASHINGTON POST

I hope I will never read another BS report about our precision bombing techniques. That is just another LIE sold to the unsuspecting American public about how the U.S. Air Force has the equipment to make precision bombing attacks.

Coalition Airstrike Kills 9 Afghan Soldiers, Officials Say

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/22/AR2008102200176.html?hpid=topnews

By Candace RondeauxWashington Post Foreign Service Wednesday, October 22, 2008; 10:12 AM

KANDAHAR AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Oct.22 -- Nine Afghan soldiers were killed and four others injured by a U.S. airstrike on an Afghan army checkpoint Wednesday in an apparent friendly fire incident in eastern Afghanistan, according to Afghan and U.S. military officials.

The predawn airstrike occurred after a convoy of coalition troops came under fire as they returned to their base in Khost province, according to a statement released by the U.S. military. Coalition soldiers called for air support after exchanging fire with Afghan troops near an Afghan army checkpoint in the Sayed Kheil area in what military officials said could be "a case of mistaken identity on both sides."

U.S. military officials did not release the nationalities of the coalition soldiers involved in the incident. But the majority of coalition forces based in eastern Afghanistan are U.S. soldiers.

HATED AL-QAEDA WEB SITE ENDORSES McCAIN---WASHINGTON POST

On Al-Qaeda Web Sites, Joy Over U.S. Crisis, Support for McCain

By Joby Warrick and Karen DeYoungWashington Post Staff WritersWednesday, October 22, 2008; A13

http://tinyurl.com/55dzu6

Al-Qaeda is watching the U.S. stock market's downward slide with something akin to jubilation, with its leaders hailing the financial crisis as a vindication of its strategy of crippling America's economy through endless, costly foreign wars against Islamist insurgents.

And at least some of its supporters think Sen. John McCain is the presidential candidate best suited to continue that trend.

"Al-Qaeda will have to support McCain in the coming election," said a commentary posted Monday on the extremist Web site al-Hesbah, which is closely linked to the terrorist group. It said the Arizona Republican would continue the "failing march of his predecessor," President Bush.

The Web commentary was one of several posted by Taliban or al-Qaeda-allied groups in recent days that trumpeted the global financial crisis and predicted further decline for the United States and other Western powers. In language that was by turns mocking and ominous, the newest posting credited al-Qaeda with having lured Washington into a trap that had "exhausted its resources and bankrupted its economy." It further suggested that a terrorist strike might swing the election to McCain and guarantee an expansion of U.S. military commitments in the Islamic world.

U.S. MARINES COMBAT VIDEO

The subject line says it all. U.S. Marines in combat.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/VNwuLq212WQ&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

VIDEO MONTAGE OF IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN WARS: MUSIC BLACK STONE CHERRY'S RAIN WIZARD

JOHN McCAIN blurted out today that "victory has been achieved in Iraq" and it was totally overlooked by the media, but I'm sure the troops seen in this video montage from IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN will be happy to know at least half of the two wars is over.

The video features music by Black Stone Cherry's Rain Wizard.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/BKK1-Ey-eGY&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

VIDEO OF MORE RACIST SUPPORTERS OF McCAIN AND PALIN

It is hard to believe that so many of the McCain/Palin supporters are RACISTS, and proud of it.

In this VIDEO you see and hear McCain/Palin supporters spout racial epithets about BARACK OBAMA.

The only thing missing in this video are MSNBC's JOE SCARBOROUGH and PAT BUCHANAN.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/zjx7rP2zw8Q&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW VIDEO TO ACTIVATE THIS UGLY VIDEO

FRIGHTENING VIDEO: McCAIN SUPPORTERS IN PA.CALL OBAMA A TERRORIST

It is absolutely frightening to listen to these McCain supporters going to a McCain rally put on public display how stupid they are. They call Obama a terrorist and much worse. This video was made at McCain rally in Bethlehem, Pa.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/itEucdhf4Us&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO VIEW THIS ANGRY MOB OF McCAIN SUPPORTERS.

ARMY TIMES: IRAQI PM SLAMS TOP U.S. SOLDIER FOR SAYING IRAN BRIBED IRAQI OFFICIALS.

Iraq’s PM slams top US soldier over comments

By Hamza Hendawi - The Associated PressPosted : Friday Oct 17, 2008 15:58:46 EDT

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/10/ap_Iraq_Odierno_101708/

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister slammed America’s top military commander in Iraq on Friday, saying he “risked his position” when he said Iran sought to bribe lawmakers to vote against a security agreement between Iraq and the United States.

“The American commander has risked his position when he spoke in this tone and has regrettably complicated relations,” Nouri al-Maliki told a group of visiting Kuwaiti journalists in an interview shown on Iraq’s state television. “The man is known to be good and kind, but how can he speak like this about a baseless case? What has been said is truly regrettable.”

Al-Maliki’s surprisingly strong-worded criticism of Gen. Ray Odierno underlined the touchiness of the issue of relations between Iraqi politicians and Iran, which the United States accuses of meddling in Iraq’s affairs, including the arming, training and financing of Shiite militants.

Many in Iraq’s Shiite political elite had lived in exile in Iran for decades when Saddam Hussein was in power, returning to Iraq after the 2003 ouster of the late dictator’s Sunni-led regime. Iraq’s largest Shiite party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, was created in Iran in the early 1980s and its Iranian-trained militia, the Badr Brigade, fought on Iran’s side in its 1980-88 war with Iraq.

The country’s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, is Iranian-born and remains a citizen of the Persian nation more than 50 years after he arrived in Iraq.

Iran has consistently opposed the U.S. presence in Iraq and made no secret of its opposition to the proposed U.S.-Iraqi security pact, which provides for the departure of American troops by 2012. Iran has called for its rejection and accused Washington of pressuring the Iraqi government to approve it.

The pact has yet to be approved by al-Maliki’s Cabinet before it goes to parliament for a vote.
Odierno, who last month succeeded Gen. David Petraeus as the overall commander of U.S. and allied forces in Iraq, told the Washington Post in an interview published Monday that U.S. intelligence reports suggested that Iran has attempted to bribe Iraqi lawmakers to derail the agreement, which is needed for U.S. troops to stay in Iraq after their U.N. mandate expires Dec. 31.

He said he had no definitive proof of the bribes, but that “there are many intelligence reports” that suggest Iranians are “coming in to pay off people to vote against it.”

The charge was repeated Wednesday in Baghdad by a U.S. military spokesman, Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll, who said the military suspected that Iranian agents were trying to bribe Iraqi politicians to oppose the security pact, but that it had no reason to believe Iraqi politicians had taken the bribes.

“There are indicators that Iranian agents may come across the border and use money or other bribes to influence Iraqi politicians,” he said.

“It’s a whole different matter whether Iraqi politicians would accept that.”

But al-Maliki’s comments and a statement by his government issued late Wednesday branding Odierno’s comments “inappropriate” suggest that the Iraqis may want an official apology.

A senior Shiite lawmaker, however, says he doesn’t understand why the government is making such a fuss over Odierno’s remarks when it is an open secret that Iran has a strong lobby in Baghdad’s corridors of power, including the 275-seat parliament.

The lawmaker, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject and claims to have rejected Iranian overtures to win his goodwill, said Iran has consistently been pushing its “agenda” in Iraq and that it should be no surprise to anyone that it would use all means possible to torpedo the U.S.-Iraq security agreement.

IRAQIS STAGE MASS ANTI U.S. RALLY

The mainstream media never reports on Iraq anymore, and when they do mention Iraq they would have you believe everything is peachy keen.

Not so.

Iraqi people are opposed to any pact that keeps U.S. troops in Iraq and they want U.S. troops out of Iraq NOW.

Iraqis stage mass anti-US rally

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7677551.stm

Supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr have staged a mass demonstration in Baghdad in protest against plans to extend the US mandate in Iraq.

An estimated 50,000 protesters chanted slogans such as "Get out occupier!".

Iraqi and US negotiators drafted the deal after months of talks but it still needs approval from Iraq's government.

Under the agreement US troops would withdraw by 2011, and Iraq would have the right to prosecute Americans who commit crimes while off-duty.

The UN mandate for US-led coalition forces expires at the end of this year. About 144,000 of the 152,000 foreign troops deployed there are US military personnel.

Political battle
Chanting slogans and waving banners, tens of thousands of Shias, mainly young men, marched on the eastern suburb of Sadr City towards the centre of Baghdad.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says Moqtada Sadr's militant opposition to the US presence has strong grassroots support among many Shias - and this was a physical manifestation of that opposition.

He says leaders of the 30-strong Sadr bloc in the Iraqi parliament will have expressed that rejection at a meeting of Iraq's Political Council for National Security late on Friday.

The meeting of top political leaders and the heads of parliamentary factions was convened to discuss the draft agreement covering the US military presence after its mandate expires.

No decisions were taken but the Council is to meet again to hear back from military experts on what is a very complex and detailed document.

Our correspondent says its passage through parliament may follow naturally if it is approved by the Council, but this is by no means assured and a tough political battle is already shaping up.
In Washington, US defence chief Robert Gates has been courting support for the deal from key members of Congress - although their approval is not mandatory.

BOXES OF VETERAN BENEFIT CLAIM FORMS FOUND WAITING TO BE SHREDDED

VA claims found in piles to be shredded

By Rick Maze - Staff writerPosted : Thursday Oct 16, 2008 16:35:50 EDT
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/10/military_va_stopshredding_101608w/

Department of Veterans Affairs regional offices have been ordered to immediately stop shredding documents after an investigation found some benefits claims and supporting documents among piles of papers waiting to be destroyed.

Claims often include personal records supplied by veterans that are not duplicated in government files and might be difficult to replace, such as certificates for births, deaths and marriage.

In a statement, VA Secretary James Peake said only a handful of documents were found among piles of documents set aside to be shredded. But he is not pleased.

“I insist on the highest possible standards for processing and safeguarding information in VA’s custody,” Peake said. “It is unacceptable that documents important to a veteran’s claim for benefits should be misplaced or destroyed.”

Peake said three of VA’s 57 regional offices were involved, without naming them. Veterans of Foreign Wars said they were told four regional offices — in Detroit, St. Louis, St. Petersburg, Fla., and Waco, Texas — were identified as having documents in shredding bins that should not have been there.

VFW National Commander Glen Gardner said the problem could be significant.

“The VA inspector general conducted a routine investigation of Detroit’s mailroom and discovered five documents in the shredder bin, then three pieces are found in St. Louis, two in Waco, and some more in St. Petersburg,” he said. “The question that begs to be asked and answered is how many veterans had their disability and compensation claims disappear down a paper shredder?”

Peake said VA’s inspector general continues to investigate and that anyone who violated policies on protecting documents will be held accountable.

Among the records found waiting to be shredded were applications for disability compensation, education benefits, home loans and pensions for low-income veterans, officials said.

The halt in shredding was ordered by Patrick Dunne, the retired Navy rear admiral sworn in just weeks ago as VA’s new undersecretary for benefits.
Dunne’s order aims to prevent any documents from being destroyed until officials can determine if this is a widespread problem.

Continue reading here: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/10/military_va_stopshredding_101608w/

GRAPHIC VIDEO: FRIENDLY FIRE: ROUGH LANGUAGE, COVER-UP.

This video shows what is possibly a friendly fire incident in Iraq. The language is very rough. Watch the confusion as our GIs try to sort out what is happening inside a house in Iraq.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/qLlDsTaFLxA&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW IN PICTURE TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

VIDEO: THE RACIST BIGOTED MCCAIN/PALIN MOB CAUGHT ON TAPE

This video is a clear indication a vast majority of the McCain/Palin supporters are racists and bigots.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/cI5YVFAdtRo&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW IN PICTURE TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

3 SOLDERS, 16 CIVILIANS KILLED IN INCREASED FIGHTING IN AFGHANISTAN

Official: Afghanistan suffering from Iraqi gains

By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
(10-14) 08:11 PDT KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) --

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/10/14/international/i041155D66.DTL

U.S. military successes in Iraq have forced sophisticated and well-trained insurgents to pour into Afghanistan instead, part of the reason violence has spiked in Afghanistan, the Afghan defense minister said Tuesday.

In a demonstration of the increasingly deadly attacks, a roadside blast in the east where U.S. soldiers operate killed three NATO troops, while two separate roadside bombs in the south killed 16 Afghan civilians, officials said.

The Afghan defense minister, Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak, said terrorists who would have once fought in Iraq have been "diverted" to Afghanistan.

"The success of coalition forces in Iraq and also some other issues in some of the neighboring countries have made it possible that there is a major increase in the foreign fighters," Wardak told a news conference. "There is no doubt that they are (better) equipped than before. They are well trained, more sophisticated, their coordination is much better."

The top U.S. commander in eastern Afghanistan, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser, told The Associated Press last month that he is seeing a spike in the number of foreign militants — including Arabs and Chechens — flowing into Afghanistan. He said militant Web sites have been encouraging fighters to go to Afghanistan instead of Iraq.

CNN REPORTS: ARMY TELLS FEMALE SOLDIER SHE CAN'T BRING PUPPY HOME FROM IRAQ

Puppy stays in Iraq, Army tells soldier

Story Highlights
Soldiers rescue puppy from a burning pile of trash back in May
10,000 people sign online petition urging Army to let puppy come home with soldier
Operation Baghdad Pups says it has gotten 50 dogs transferred to the U.S.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/14/iraq.puppy.ap/index.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- More than 10,000 people have signed an online petition urging the Army to let an Iraqi puppy come home with a Minnesota soldier, who fears that "Ratchet" could be killed if left behind.

"I just want my puppy home," Sgt. Gwen Beberg of Minneapolis wrote to her mother in an e-mail Sunday from Iraq, soon after she was separated from the dog following a transfer. "I miss my dog horribly." Beberg, 28, is scheduled to return to the U.S. next month.

Ratchet's defenders are ratcheting up their efforts to save him. On Monday, the program coordinator for Operation Baghdad Pups, which is run by Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International, left for a trip to the Middle East to try to get the puppy to the U.S.

And last week, Beberg's congressman, Democrat Keith Ellison, wrote to the Army urging it to review the case.

Beberg and another soldier rescued the puppy from a burning pile of trash back in May. Defense Department rules prohibit soldiers in the U.S. Central Command, which includes Iraq, from adopting pets, but exceptions have been made. Operation Baghdad Pups says it has gotten 50 dogs and six cats transferred to the U.S. in the last eight months.

"I'm coping reasonably well because I refuse to believe that Ratchet has been hurt," Beberg wrote in the e-mail to her mother, Patricia Beberg. "If I find out that he was killed though -- well, we just won't entertain that possibility."

The mother said her daughter sent another e-mail saying that she confirmed that the dog was still alive and doing OK.

Operation Baghdad Pups' program coordinator, Terry Crisp, is scheduled to arrive in Baghdad on Wednesday. Crisp said the adopted dogs left behind face death on Iraqi streets.
She said Iraqis view dogs and cats as nuisances and carriers of disease, and U.S. soldiers have rescued many of them from abuse.

JON STEWART RIPS FOX NEWS----FUNNY, FUNNY VIDEO

Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," has put together a collection of FOX NEWS clips showing how the so-called "news station" has done everything possible to avoid talking about the economy.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/sAiyaDFKFS8&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW IN PICTURE TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

MORE PALIN SUPPORTERS AT A RALLY IN JOHNSTOWN, PA. WATCH VIDEO

There is not a particle of difference between the people you see in this video and the people you can see in vintage movie clips from the Hitler's Nazi Germany.

This is what you get when you inflame a crowd like Sarah Palin has done with her hate-filled rhetoric directed at Barack Obama.

Somewhere in this crowd of Palin supporters could easily be another Lee Harvey Oswald and that is what so many in the media are worried about but won't come right out and say it.

Listen closely to what they are saying. They are repeating word-for-word what they are hearing on FOX NEWS and "hate radio" shows like RUSH LIMBAUGH.

However, we will.

WATCH THIS FRIGHTENING VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/gHrExRHZnm0&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW IN PICTURE TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

VIDEO OF OHIO SUPPORTERS OF McCAIN/PALIN: OMIGAWD! ARE THESE PEOPLE IGNORANT

Anybody wanna bet 100% of these Ohio McCain/Palin supporters are racists? Of course they are. How can so many people be so dumb. This video is a clear indication of the meatheads that support McCain and Palin.

Anybody also wanna bet 100% of these Ohio McCain/Palin supporters are diehard FOX NEWS watchers? Of course they are. They ALL use FOX NEWS "talking points."

My question to all these McCain/Palin supporters opposed to abortion is real simple: Would you adopt a black baby?

WATCH THIS VIDEO AND THEN ASK YOURSELF: IS THIS COUNTRY WORTH SAVING FOR CLOWN LIKE THIS?

http://www.youtube.com/v/utXFkXwaG7A&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW IN PICTURE TO ACTIVATE THIS VIDEO

IRAQ TODAY QUESTIONS WHY MEDIA PLAYS DOWN VIOLENCE WHEN 9 ARE KILLED AND 13 WOUNDED IN BAGHDAD TODAY

Nine killed, 13 injured in car bombing in marketplace in Bayaa, southwest Baghdad, a predominantly Shiite area. (Earlier reports gave lower casualty counts but this is the most current as of posting time.)

SOURCE: http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com/

Note: This AFP report, like all wire service reports on violence in Iraq, includes what has apparently become an obligatory disclaimer to the effect that "violence is down sharply in Iraq," which you will see if you follow nearly all of these links. There appears to be a law against reporting on incidents without this statement. In fact, as our readers are well aware, dozens of Iraqis die in terrorist attacks, assassinations, and gun battles every day. To whatever extent this may be happening at a lesser rate than at some time in the past, why do the corporate media feel compelled to continually spin it as good news? The situation is completely unacceptable and would inspire horror if it were happening in any other country in the world. -- C

THE OTHER PTSD: SEXUAL ABUSE OF WOMEN IN THE MILITARY---WATCH VIDEO

This video takes you inside of what is happening to many, many women who serve in the military---PTSD, or Sexual Abuse in the Military.

This NBC special looks at how women who have been sexually abused in the military are being treated.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/qtY_Wh-oUkM&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO ACTIVATE THIS VIDEO

POLITICO REPORTS: CIVIL RIGHTS ICON, JOHN LEWIS, SAYS McCAIN/PALIN STIR HATE

Civil rights icon says McCain stirs hate

By: Mike Allen and Jonathan Martin October 11, 2008 04:21 PM EST
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14488.html

Civil rights icon John Lewis compared Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to George Wallace in a posting to Politico's forum "The Arena," accusing McCain of fostering “an atmosphere of hate” and “hostility” like the one that led to white supremacists’ 1963 bombing of a church in Birmingham, Ala. Lewis, a Democratic congressman from Georgia who has endorsed Obama, pointed in his posting to “the negative tone of the McCain-Palin campaign,” and said the senator and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, “are sowing the seeds of hatred and division.”

McCain, in a book he wrote with aide Mark Salter called “Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life,” had lauded the leadership of Lewis in the non-violent civil-rights movement. McCain called the accusation “shocking and beyond the pale” and called on Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to repudiate it."

Brad Woodhouse of the Democratic National Committee said on Fox News: "I don't think Senator Obama would agree with that. ... I don’t think we would agree with those comments."Lewis didn't accuse McCain of imitating Wallace, but suggested there were similarities. His sharp words may be dismissed as those of a partisan Democrat in a campaign season. But the former head of SNCC and hero of Selma is somebody who McCain has lavished praise upon over the years, including in his book on courage and bravery and repeatedly invoking Lewis's name in public appearances. Appearing with Obama at a forum at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in August, McCain included Lewis as one of "three wise men" he would consult as president. "He can teach us all a lot about the meaning of courage and commitment to causes greater than our self-interest," McCain said of Lewis. Now, Lewis is castigating McCain in the harshest of terms. "George Wallace never threw a bomb," Lewis noted.

"He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama." McCain quickly fired back hard, calling the comments “a character attack against Governor Sarah Palin and me that is shocking and beyond the pale.” “The notion that legitimate criticism of Senator Obama's record and positions could be compared to Governor George Wallace, his segregationist policies and the violence he provoked is unacceptable and has no place in this campaign,” McCain said in the statement.

“I am saddened that John Lewis, a man I've always admired, would make such a brazen and baseless attack on my character and the character of the thousands of hardworking Americans who come to our events to cheer for the kind of reform that will put America on the right track. McCain also put the onus on Obama to distance himself from the remarks: "I call on Senator Obama to immediately and personally repudiate these outrageous and divisive comments that are so clearly designed to shut down debate 24 days before the election. Our country must return to the important debate about the path forward for America.” The full Lewis posting, sent to Politico's Fred Barbash, referee of "The Arena," with the heading “Rep. John Lewis On Hostility of McCain-Palin Campaign": “As one who was a victim of violence and hate during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, I am deeply disturbed by the negative tone of the McCain-Palin campaign. What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse. “During another period, in the not too distant past, there was a governor of the state of Alabama named George Wallace who also became a presidential candidate. George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama.

"As public figures with the power to influence and persuade, Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are playing with fire, and if they are not careful, that fire will consume us all. They are playing a very dangerous game that disregards the value of the political process and cheapens our entire democracy. We can do better. The American people deserve better.”

Politico has asked the Obama campaign for comment.

VIDEO: MSNBC'S RACHEL MADDOW TALKS ABOUT SARAH PALIN'S SECESSIONIST TIES

Rachel Maddow, host of MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show," dissects Sarah Palin's ties to secessionists in Alaska who want to set up Alaska as their own country.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR3ZRUTgcCI&feature=email

FUNNY VIDEO: HEY SARAH PALIN (WITH LYRICS AND SUB-TITLES)

Everyone is getting into the act of mocking Sarah Palin and this video is no exception. It is hilarious and the lyrics are priceless.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DIc8jdra0o&feature=email

SICKENING VIDEO: THE McCAIN/PALIN MOB

This is another video which shows all the hate-speech by Sarah Palin and John McCain have fired up the McCain/Palin base who are capable of committing the most despicable of all acts on Barack Obama.

WATCH THIS SICKENING VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/KjxzmaXAg9E&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

FRIGHTENING VIDEO OF McCAIN/PALIN SUPPORTERS SPOUTING OFF

This video of McCain/Palin supporters clearly indicates the inflammatory language both candidates have been saying about Barack Obama has hit home with the unhinged people who support McCain and Palin.

This street walk video was made in Bethlehem, Pa. and you get to see and hear McCain and Palin supporters in what can be best described as a parade of nutcases who have been fired up by McCain and Palin and are capable of doing anything.

WATCH THIS FRIGHTENING VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/itEucdhf4Us&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW IN PICTURE TO ACTIVATE THIS VIDEO

WASHINGTON POST: McCAIN IS WRONG ABOUT IRAQ: 24 KILLED AND 45 INJURED IN NEW WAVE OF VIOLENCE ACROSS IRAQ

John McCain keeps telling people at his campaign stops that we are "winning the war" in Iraq, but McCain ignores the rising tide of violence in Iraq.

24 Killed, 45 Injured in Bombings and Shootings Across Iraq

By Mary Beth Sheridan and Qais MizherWashington Post Staff WritersSaturday, October 11, 2008; A17

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/10/AR2008101002896.html

BAGHDAD, Oct. 10 -- A car bomb exploded in a market in southern Baghdad late Friday afternoon, killing at least 14 people and prompting an outburst of sectarian rioting, according to police and witnesses.

The attack was one of numerous bombings and shootings around the country in which 24 people were killed and 45 injured. They illustrated the tenuousness of the security situation in Iraq, where violence has fallen to four-year lows in recent months but political and sectarian divisions can quickly lead to bloodshed.

The bomb in a red Daewoo sedan blew up in the Abu Dsheer neighborhood, a Shiite enclave in the largely Sunni area of Dora, according to Iraqi security officials. The district had been a hotbed of insurgency before U.S. troops engaged in major combat there last year during the buildup of forces.

The U.S. military now considers parts of Dora safe enough to begin removing the giant blast barriers installed around the city as part of its counterinsurgency strategy to control the population and forestall attacks.

But the melee that broke out Friday afternoon showed how easily ethnic tensions can flare.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/10/AR2008101002896.html

BUSH USES US SOLDIERS IN IRAQ AS PAWNS TO HELP McCAIN

President Bush has been using U.S. soldiers deployed to Iraq like pawns in a chess game in an effort to help John McCain in his bid for President of the United States.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki had announced in July he wanted U.S. troops out of Iraq, but Bush declined the request because he felt keeping U.S. troops in Iraq would help John McCain.

EXCLUSIVE: Maliki Suggests Bush Pushed To Extend U.S. Presence In Iraq To Help McCain»

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/23/maliki-bush-mccain-iraq/

Last July, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said U.S. troops should be out of Iraq “as soon as possible” and endorsed Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) withdrawal plan. Obama “talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right time frame for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes,” Maliki told Der Spiegel magazine.

Days later, as Obama wrapped up meetings with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh reiterated his government’s stance, saying “the end of 2010 is the appropriate time for the withdrawal.”

Negotiating the post-UN mandate security agreement with Iraq, Bush argued for more time and both sides ultimately agreed that all U.S. troops would be out of Iraq by the end of 2011, not 2010, even though Bush has said previously that “if they were to say, leave, we would leave.”

Why did Bush go back on his word? A source tells ThinkProgress that White House communications staff were concerned that Maliki’s endorsement of the 2010 time line would damage Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) presidential campaign. Indeed, during an interview with Iraqi television last week (according to an Open Source Center translation), Maliki suggested that the U.S. presidential elections played a role:

Actually, the final date was really the end of 2010 and the period between the end of 2010 and the end of 2011 was for withdrawing the remaining troops from all of Iraq, but they asked for a change [in date] due to political circumstances related to the [U.S] domestic situation so it will not be said to the end of 2010 followed by one year for withdrawal but the end of 2011 as a final date.

In fact, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said that as part of the security agreement, Bush wanted U.S. troops to stay in Iraq even longer. “It was a U.S. proposal for the date which is 2015, and an Iraqi one which is 2010, then we agreed to make it 2011,” Talabani said.

But by endorsing Obama’s time line, Maliki indirectly slighted McCain, who has consistently and strenuously argued against setting a withdrawal date and has even said he wouldn’t mind having U.S. troops in Iraq for 100 years. But Maliki’s new position has left McCain scrambling, first saying its “a pretty good timetable,” but then denying he used “the word timetable” and later settling on “anything is good.”

Despite Bush’s constant refrain that commanders, not politics, will decide the course in Iraq, it seems that trying to help his party retain the White House is more important.

SOLDIERS SERVING OVERSEAS FIND IT INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO VOTE

Some overseas soldiers' voting hampered

Deborah Hastings - The Associated Press

http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/284094/36/

American soldiers can hump 60-pound packs through the broiling desert, kill for their country and die for it, but they can't always vote for their commander in chief.

A solution has long been proposed: Just get rid of the Byzantine process which forces those in far-flung battle zones to vote by mail that must be delivered to thousands of local election districts across the United States.

But the Pentagon has found that bringing military voting into the 21st century is not so simple.

The number of absentee military ballots applied for that ultimately get counted is consistently low.

In the last federal election, only about 30 percent of overseas military ballots were tallied, according to data from the federal Election Assistance Commission, which monitors election problems, and the Pew Center on the States.

Change won't come in time for the November presidential election, when record numbers of voters are expected to decide between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.

For soldiers, the stakes couldn't be higher.

The winner may well decide how long they stay in battle, and how soon they come home.

No one knows why some 70 percent of overseas military ballots weren't recorded in 2006.

No one keeps centralized records on military ballots or voter turnout. But anecdotal evidence collected from local voting districts, which number more than 7,000, points to ballots that arrived late, ballots not properly filled out and ballots mailed to the wrong location -- most of which get discarded.

Then there are the ballots of troops who never mailed them back at all.

Contributing to the confusion are states and local election districts with competing and sometimes confounding rules governing overseas ballots. And the mail-in process can take up to 60 days from start to finish, even though many absentee ballots weren't available until this month.

Continue reading here http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/284094/36/

VIDEO: OBAMA ASKS: "WHY WON'T McCAIN SAY IT TO MY FACE?"

This short interview of Barack Obama with Charley Gibson of ABC News poses the question so many people are asking. Why does McCain continue to attack Obama but he won't say it to his face?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDz7iJYJXmE&feature=email

ABC NEWS VIDEO. BIDEN, THE VIEW AND MUCH MORE.

This video is crammed full of some great moments from the political trail. You will see Joe Biden cracking up over the SNL impersonation of him. Also, the women of "The View" talking about Sarah Palin including the SNL Tina Fey impersonation of Palin. And there is much, much more.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=5983382

BUSH ADMIN LISTENS TO PHONE CONVERSATIONS OF TROOPS OVERSEAS

Absolutely disgusting. According to a new report from ABC, thanks to the Patriot Act, the government has been listening into phone calls from troops in the middle east, and passing clips of them around the office. Not just that, but the clips are of private moments between troops and their wives and girlfriends.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-soltz/government-intrudes-on-tr_b_133342.html

From ABC:

Faulk says he and others in his section of the NSA facility at Fort Gordon routinely shared salacious or tantalizing phone calls that had been intercepted, alerting office mates to certain time codes of "cuts" that were available on each operator's computer.

"Hey, check this out," Faulk says he would be told, "there's good phone sex or there's some pillow talk, pull up this call, it's really funny, go check it out. It would be some colonel making pillow talk and we would say, 'Wow, this was crazy'," Faulk told ABC News.

Faulk said he joined in to listen, and talk about it during breaks in Back Hall's "smoke pit," but ended up feeling badly about his actions.

Oh, he felt badly? How about I start listening into the phone calls of NSA staff, and posting the best stuff on blogs, so we can all have a laugh.

Asked for comment about the ABC News report and accounts of intimate and private phone calls of military officers being passed around, a US intelligence official said "all employees of the US government" should expect that their telephone conversations could be monitored as part of an effort to safeguard security and "information assurance."

"They certainly didn't consent to having interceptions of their telephone sex conversations being passed around like some type of fraternity game," said Jonathon Turley, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University who has testified before Congress on the country's warrantless surveillance program.

Turley is right, and frankly, the response to ABC from the intelligence official is a disgrace.
Let me tell you something about being in a warzone. It's grueling, it's mentally taxing, it's hot, you see men blown up and losing limbs. For many, the one bit of calm they have is a brief moment when they thought of their wives or girlfriends back home, who they haven't seen for months.

But it was also agonizing. They could see them in their heads, but they couldn't touch them or smell them.

The best troops have is a brief telephone call sometimes. And, yes, it was as close to intimate as they can get. A tiny bit of good amidst the hell of war.

For the government to think that it was acceptable to listen in and pass around troops' most intimate moments, like some high-tech peeping toms, some satellite-powered voyeurs, is one of the greatest insults I can think of to those men and women in uniform sacrificing everything they have for their nation.

It's good that Senator Jay Rockefeller has started an investigation into this. I sincerely hope that he does not stop until everyone who let this happen is accounted for, and their heads roll. And I hope Republicans, who used to be all about limited government, and who swore to uphold our Constitution and Constitutional rights wake up and realize what's happening.

Our troops deserve a lot better from the government they're fighting for.

Crossposted at www.vetvoice.com

HILARIOUS VIDEO FROM JON STEWART ABOUT OBAMA/MCCAIN DEBATE

Jon Stewart, host of "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central, keeps churning out hilarious videos and this one is no exception as Stewart picks apart the last debate between Barack Obama and John McCain.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=187584&title=word-war-ii&byDate=true

READ THIS AND REMEMBER JOHN McCAIN RECEIVED AN "F" RATING FROM IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR

John McCain has one of the WORST records in Congress when it comes to supporting legislation that will help returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. In a recent study, the Iraq, Afghanistan Veterans Against the War (IAVA) http://www.iava.org/ gave McCain an "F" because of his abysmal record in Congress of supporting Veterans.

McCain talks BIG but he doesn't back up his talk with ACTION in the Senate.

Here is a report from Veterans for Common Sense http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/articleID/8077 on the status of how Veterans are being treated (or more appropriately not treated) by the Bush administration, John McCain and the Department of Veteran Affairs.


On July 17, 2007, Jim Nicholson announced his resignation as Secretary of Veterans Affairs, effective no later than October 1, 2007. Nicholson cut and ran just as veterans and Congress were gathering pitchforks and torches in a broad based effort to evict him.

The few veterans and elected officials who pay close attention to VA healthcare and benefits policy exhaled in relief as Nicholson, who had no relevant qualifications, said he would finally quit.

Most expect him to return to partisan politics and run for office in Colorado.

Only a few months on the job in early 2005, Nicholson fell flat on his face before Congress by claiming VA had enough money. He returned a few months later begging for $3 billion in emergency funds, much of it to care for our 230,000 wounded, injured, and ill from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars already treated at VA hospitals.

Sadly, Nicholson wasn’t served well, either. His top aides knew about the Walter Reed Army Medical Center fiasco during the summer of 2004. Yet our wounded warriors needlessly suffered for two more years until the Washington Post amplified the superb reporting by Salon’s Mark Benjamin, forcing the military and VA to start addressing the problems.

This sad morality play was driven by the enormous pressure from the White House to keep VA spending down in order to preserve President George W. Bush’s tax cut for the rich, who enjoy unprecedented wealth as hundreds of thousands of our homeless veterans sleep on the streets every night.

Using two key measures, Nicholson’s disastrous record of corruption, cronyism, and devastation at VA is far worse than FEMA’s “Heck of a job Brownie” after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

First, when a veteran needs healthcare, VA must provide it immediately, without question, and without waiting. Jonathan Schulze, who earned two Purple Heart medals, committed suicide in 2006 after three failed attempts to get care for his Iraq War – related PTSD.

Second, when a veteran needs disability compensation, VA must provide it immediately, without bureaucratic hassles, and without endless waiting, so they can put food on the table, pay the rent, and take care of their family. Jason Stiffler was kicked to the curb in 2003 by the military and VA, subsisting on a few hundred dollars a month after getting wounded in the Afghanistan War. Nicholson took a wrecking ball to VA. Pity on the state that wants to elect someone with such an abysmal record.

If Nicholson was the captain of the ill-fated Titanic, then he relished, with extremist religious zeal, the orders from Karl Rove and Grover Norquist to sail VA into an iceberg and drown VA in red tape. In the midst of disaster Nicholson approved $3.8 million in undeserved cash “performance” bonuses while hundreds of thousands of veterans remained homeless, waited months to see doctors, and even waited years to receive disability benefit payments.
Our next VA secretary should remember Jonathan Schulze and Jason Stiffler, and learn that VA failures cause catastrophic consequences. VA’s next leader faces several major unresolved issues:

• Congress must provide VA with mandatory full funding so there is better planning and so VA can eliminate the delays our veterans face when seeking medical care or disability benefits.

• VA must provide mandatory and universal PTSD and TBI screening for all recent war veterans. Our veterans earned early detection and treatment, and this is much cheaper for taxpayers in the long-run.

• VA must automatically approve all disability claims for six months at a modest level so our new war veterans stop falling through the cracks while waiting on VA to review 800,000 backlogged disability claims.

• VA must automatically approve disability claims for our combat veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan when a doctor diagnoses them with PTSD.

Thirty eight years ago, Neil Armstrong, a Korean War Navy aviator, landed on the moon. When we set our sights on it, we can attain lofty goals. Let’s make it our mission to house all our 200,000 homeless veterans and make sure they don’t fall through the cracks as they did after the Vietnam War and Gulf War.